Another snow day!

March brought us a random, heavy snow day, and the kiddos loved it.  Peter took them out and they make a fort and a huge snowman.  Good thing we took this photo, because Mr Snow Man fell over a few minutes later.  The snow was VERY wet and heavy.  Pretty good though, eh?

At one point I couldn't see Marcus, (who was behind the fort) but I could see his snowballs flying toward daddy as he made a manly "ah" sound.  

Baby boy 3 is growing fast.  He's nearly 36 weeks in this picture, and into month 9.  Marcus came at 37.5 weeks, so I'm starting to wonder about this one.  Will he come early, on time, or late?  Only time will tell.  I have been in much less pain this time around then I was with Marcus.  My back and hip are holding up much better.  That being said though, I'd be happy to have this little one sooner rather than later.

These last two photos are just some of my cuties.  We've been painting some of the rooms in our house because it does look like we're going to close on our new one!  So, we're trying to get this one renter ready.  We went for soft yellow in the living room rather than the dark red and brown that was there.  I think it really lightened up the room.

I've started Sammy on the program Sing, Spell, Read and Write,and he's really liking it.  It's the program that the LaRock kiddos used to learn to read.  Sammy is really starting to LOVE reading books from the library and he is showing an interest in learning to put the letters together himself.  We shall see  Marcus isn't liking the focused attention on Sammy, but you know, I'm a middle child, I get that little selfish, insecurity.  It'll just take time :-)

Happy March everyone!

Snow!

Snow!!  Snow!  Come out in the snow! 

Do you like it in your face?

Yes, I like it anyplace!

We had some snow last week, and the little men of the house loved it.  Sammy and daddy played a lot of snowball fight, and always had to say, "You have left your detention" (see Veggie Tales, Lord of the Beans) before throwing their snowballs.  Marcus LOVED the snow, and was pretty put out when it was time to head to the store.  We're hoping for some more; we shall see.  While I love warm weather, I have been happy to get some very cold days.  It makes me look forward to warmer days, and it kills off buggies.  

Gluten Free Biscuits

I've been trying to perfect gluten free biscuits for Sammy for awhile, and haven't had any luck using Pamela's Baking Mix.  When I was home for Christmas, my mom gave me a GF mix that she was unable to use because of the soy in it.  I tried our biscuit recipe, (increased the baking powder as suggested) and I am really happy with the results.  They are a bit more dry than the regular biscuits, but the flavor is yummy, and they hold together when I cut them in half to put gravy or honey, etc on them.  In the following pictures the GF version is on the right next to a regular biscuit.  They are so much better than what I've had before, yay!  Sammy seems pretty happy with them, too.

The mix is made by a family in Illinois, and I may have to order more.  Their products can be found here: http://www.meistersgf.com/store.html  It's also dairy free, which would work well for those with dairy allergies.

My biscuit recipe is as follows:  (I do highly recommend a biscuit cutter: http://www.kwik-kut.com/products.php  They work like a charm to cut in the butter, and then you just cut your biscuits out using the same tool.)

1 3/4 c flour, (substituted GF flour)
1/2 tsp salt
4.5 tsp baking powder, (I increased it by half from the original recipe's 3 tsp)
6 TBSP butter
3/4 cup milk

Cut butter into flour/salt/baking powder thoroughly.  Mix in milk, roll out, cut out and bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

And, the last two pictures are of my cutie pies who insisted on having their pictures taken when they saw mommy photographing the biscuits.  Love my little ones so much!

Heading into month 7!

Sammy likes to talk to his little brother; awww!

Baby looks a lot like a basketball these days.  Getting closer!

Our Little Family Christmas

We had breakfast for our little champs, first.

Then Marcus wanted to "smile" (take a picture with mommy) and show off the "dudu tree!" (Christmas Tree)

Next, the boys goofed off, then we opened some gifts, and Marcus seemed pretty confused about the whole process.  Sammy was a pro this year.  Marcus like the little boxes for the harmonicas best.  Although, the candy was also pretty exciting.

"Nummy dee, dee!" (Candy)

Puzzle and Harmonica!

I love my little family so much.  It's such a joy to watch my little ones growing and changing.  Speaking of growing.  Little man #3 is really growing.  My belly is so big, and I have three months to go!  I should be used to this by now, but it always amazes me just how big my babies make my belly.  I felt his little hiccups for the first time this week. 

We also put in an offer on a house today, (well, Peter did most of the work.)  If we get it, it'll be awesome, if not, I'm going to take that as God letting us know that this is not the house He has for us.  It'll need some fixing up, but overall, it's cute, and has a lot more space than we do now.  Update will follow.  Trust me, if we get it, I'll have to post lots of before and after photos.  It think it has potential to be really cute once fixed up.

Happy January!

Merry Christmas!!

What's up with us these days?

It has been awhile since I've updated our blog.  Here are some pictures and a few words to help you understand just what we've been up to.

Sammy is now 3 and a half.  He'll be four in April.  Lately he gets lost in his imagination.  He loves the movie, "Cars" and can often be found acting out scenes that include many of the characters.  Last night he pretended to talk on the phone with Mac the Truck.  He has learned his letters, loves reading stories, and most of the time likes playing with his little brother, Marcus.  He's a little outdoors man, and we've been able to get out for walks through much of November and December.  Recently, we've started finding nests in trees on our walks.  Sammy is always thrilled when we find a new one, and insists on visiting each on we've already found.  He also insists on saying "hi" to the cattails and "Mater" toy that we see on our walking route.  He's my picky eater, who regularly throws up at the dinner table.  I used to judge people with picky eaters - not any more.  I've never seen anything like this little man.  God knows how to humble us.  He's a sweetheart who is learning more and more about obedience, forgiving his sinful mommy, and about the God who loves him unconditionally.

Marcus is 19 months, and has proved to be quite the handful.  He delights in anything messy which makes his latest obsession with washing his hands quite ironic.  Sammy made messes; Marcus brings destruction.  In typing this much of the post, I have gotten up 5 times so far to get him out of things, and break up fight with Sammy, (mostly Marcus keeps attacking him, haha.)  He's much more fearless than Sammy, and keeps me on my toes for sure.  He's a little doll, though, which helps.  He talks up a storm, and says so many cute things.  He will say, "Yes, mama," "Need a mama, need a daddy," "On my Boyam, by self!" (boyam=bottom, when he goes down the slide), and so many more little phrases and words.  He also LOVES to play outside, and I am so very grateful for the mild winter so far.  Check out this cute little blondie.

Here they are together this fall.  We spent a lot of time playing in our leaf pile.  They loved it!

Baby boy number 3, yes we are having our third son kept me quite sick for part of August, September and October.  Those were some hard months, that had me swearing I'd never have another child.  Now, though, I'm very excited to meet our new little mister.  He's due in early April.  So, I'll have two April babies, and one May baby.  Birthday's are going to be busy times for us in the future.  Here he is today :-)  Pardon the messy bedroom and finger printed mirror.  The life of a busy mommy is never as clean and tidy as I would like I'm finding.

Peter is very busy these days with working at HSLDA, working for CAMCO Investments, looking for a new house for us, a new job, hunting deer, becoming more involved at church with local missions, a tired, pregnant wife, and two very busy boys.  But, he handles it all with much class and patience.  He amazes me some days.  We did purchase our first ever minivan this fall which Peter also dedicated much time to finding, researching and purchasing.  It's been a pretty hectic, and stressful several months for us, but the Lord is bringing us through.  I'm still working part-time, but it's looking like come time for this baby, I'll be dropping that.  I'm quite relieved.  I need to slow down a little.  

There's an update from us.  I will do my best to update a little more often from here on out.